The HRCs have made Canada a laughingstock with their tone-deaf cases against Steyn and Levant. Guy Earle is just one of the many not-so-famous victims of the Human Rights Commissions. But ironically, his profile is on the rise, thanks to his current travails.

I lament this further loss of freedom and loss of common sense. I lament the fact that one thin-skinned radical lesbian activist is perpetuating the new stereotype of gays as intolerant of any criticism or dissent. I'm sure that EGALE would oppose this lawsuit, because they know it just looks bad, bad, bad on their community, who themselves use transgressive art, including comedy, to deal with difficult issues. What do you think Rosie O'Donnell would have done -- whine to the government, or heckle back?

But, as I've said before, in this battle, the worse the better. Just days after George Carlin died -- the comedian who broke boundaries about what could or couldn't be said in comedy -- we have this stunning example of censorship. Not just censorship, but a clear swipe at the entire theory of comedy, the anything-goes realm where society's foibles are mercilessly poked and prodded -- and where connoisseurs of humor freely attend, knowing they'll likely have an ox or two of their own that's gored. If comedians are no longer allowed to offend -- let alone respond to rude hecklers -- then comedy will cease to exist.

On July 19, Earle and dozens of his fellow stand-up comics will headline the "Comics for Freedom Rally" at Toronto's Comedy Bar, billed as "an evening that embodies our right to free speech (while we still have it)." The fundraiser will help cover Earle's legal fees, which could be crippling. (Ezra Levant has spent $100,000 on lawyers in the two years since the complaint was brought against him.)

But it's also a chance for Guy Earle to fight political correctness and censorship the best way he knows how: through in-your-face comedy.